1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a collapsible storage apparatus for motor vehicle cargo areas and trunk compartments which reduces the risk that cargo will shift, slide, or roll about the cargo area and trunk compartment during the operation of the motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Motor vehicles are provided with cargo areas and trunk compartments for transporting and storing cargo. Cargo areas and trunk compartments are generally defined by a load surface extending between the motor vehicle side panels and the rear seat and rear end of the motor vehicle. The cargo transported and stored on the load surface typically shifts, slides, or rolls about the load surface in response to the motion of the motor vehicle induced by accelerating, braking, and turning.
It is important to prevent cargo from shifting about the load surface in an effort to promote safety and to prevent cargo from spilling or from being damaged when being transported or stored.
Quite often, cargo which shifts about the load surface comes to rest deep within the cargo area or trunk compartment. As a consequence, the motor vehicle operator or passenger must bend over and stretch to recover the cargo from the cargo area or trunk compartment.
Of recent popularity are cargo nets. Such nets are usually formed from flexible elastic cords having hooks or other fasteners that cooperate with eyes strategically located in the motor vehicle cargo area or trunk compartment. Such nets are limited in their applications. They fail to provide a rigid structure for receiving fragile cargo. Fastening the net can require the motor vehicle operator or passenger to bend and stretch into the cargo area or trunk compartment. Moreover, deployment of the net may require tension over the cargo that can crush and damage fragile cargo.
Various organizing arrangements have been proposed for use in motor vehicle cargo areas and trunk compartments. Such arrangements include partitions or racks that divide the cargo area or trunk compartment into a plurality of discrete storage areas. Some arrangements include partitions that are collapsible and removable to allow the arrangement to be folded and stored in a compact form. These arrangements may be expensive to manufacture, especially in the secondary market, and may be cumbersome to assemble. Moreover, such arrangements themselves fail to remain in a substantially fixed position.
In addition to the foregoing problems, cargo areas, unlike trunk compartments, are generally open spaces with no deep recesses that can be used to conveniently transport and store cargo.
A storage apparatus is needed that permits cargo to be transported and stored in a motor vehicle without shifting or spilling and which permits cargo to be recovered without requiring the motor vehicle operator or passenger to bend and stretch deep within the motor vehicle cargo area or trunk compartment.